


Am I A Good Dad?

by actualrodent



Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Baby, Children, Gift Fic, M/M, New Parents, demon parents, fankid, loving couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26464807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actualrodent/pseuds/actualrodent
Summary: The Devil and the Lovely Reaper have only been dads for a couple of weeks, and the Devil is still wondering how he hasn't mastered this whole "parenting" thing just yet. His worries are more than justified, but Reaper reminds him that things will be okay and that they'll figure it out together, as any couple would.
Relationships: the devil/oc (cuphead)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Am I A Good Dad?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Radicalhat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Radicalhat/gifts).



> My gift fic to my lovely friend, Wulf! Featuring his OC Lovely Reaper!!  
> Reaper reference: https://wulfums.tumblr.com/post/628896394041868288/official-ref-sheet-for-reaper-reaper-is-my

“Devi, sweetheart, could you grab that bottle for me? If I move, she’s gonna cry again.”

The Devil picked up the glass baby bottle from the counter to hand to his husband who held their newborn baby daughter in his arms. Cheshire was her name, and she did look the part in her rather surreal animal features. Reaper smiled and offered a soft “thanks, babe” as he stuck the rubber nipple of the bottle into the whining pup’s mouth, allowing her to suckle it gently to drink the cold milk inside. 

It had only been a few weeks since Cheshire had been born, and it seemed almost as though the Reaper was adjusting better to parenthood than the Devil had been from his own perspective. It felt like just yesterday he was saying his vows at the altar, and now he was a father. 

This was a timeline that he wouldn’t have imagined a millennium ago when he had first met Reaper, but he was slowly coming to accept. The Devil sat down beside Reaper as he gently rocked their baby girl and fed her, keeping her from crying or fussing.

“She looks so much like you…” the Devil said, a small smile on his face, “I know I’ve said it before, but she really does.”

“I suppose…” Reaper chuckled, speaking softly as he looked down as his child, “she definitely got your attitude.” he gave the Devil a sly grin and nudged him slightly. “I could argue she’s a bit more like  _ you,”  _ the Devil began, smiling at his husband with half lidded eyes, “but only time will tell now, hm?” 

Reaper nodded and continued to feed Cheshire before putting her over his shoulder to burp her, patting her back gently as the Devil watched. “You’re a natural at this.” The Devil mused, crossing his legs and resting his chin in his palm, “When I try to feed her, she won’t take it or she drinks too much and spits up on me.”

“I’d hardly call myself a natural,” Reaper began, “I mean…just like that parenting book said! Remember, the one that one of your imps got for us? Sometimes babies act differently to each parent.”

“I’m just a tad worried, is all…” The Devil sighed, leaning back on the sofa, “I’m not used to this whole ‘dad’ thing just yet.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Reaper giggled, “It takes time--I mean--” he raised his eyebrows as he rubbed Cheshires back, “she  _ is  _ our first child. We can’t be perfect just yet--believe me.”

“Well, you haven’t been wrong before.”

“Damn straight, I haven’t been wrong before!” Reaper laughed, before feeling Cheshire move around in his arms, “Oh--looks like somebody wants her daddy.”

“Oh--” The Devil sprang up as Reaper passed the furry little girl to him, “Alright…” The Devil held the child in his arms and looked into her eyes, a worried smile on his face as she cooed and looked up at him, reaching upward at him. “See? She loves you.” Reaper purred, putting an arm around the Devil’s waist, “Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, yeah?”

“I suppose--” Before the Devil could finish, Cheshire began to fuss, kicking her legs and balling her fists, “Uh-oh, someone’s unhappy--”

The Devil stood up and held Cheshire out in front of him, a panicked look on his face as Cheshire began to scream and cry, kicking her feet and shaking her tiny fists. Reaper stood from his position and held his ears, furrowing his brow at the sound. “What did I do!?” The Devil asked, looking to the shorter demon for help, “Why is she crying!? Is she wet?--is she hungry?--is she--”

Just as the Devil was about to finish his series of questions Cheshire opened her mouth to unleash a stream of white spit up, gurgling from her throat as it splashed on the Devil. Reaper gasped as he watched his husband’s black fur drip with the white spit up as he stood holding Cheshire with a fed up look on his face.

“...must have been an upset tummy…?” Reaper said awkwardly, forcing a giggle as he shrugged, “Here, she needs to go down for her nap anyway--go clean up and I’ll get her to sleep, okay? Don’t even worry--this kind of thing happens!”

The Devil calmly passed Cheshire off to Reaper before making his way down the hall to scrub his fur, shutting the bathroom door and running the bath. Parenting was  _ hard,  _ and this was something that he hadn’t anticipated. 

You see, the Devil often found that he was good at everything--and should thus be good at this whole fatherhood thing--but this was something that made him second guess himself. He was a genius con man and was well known for his evil deeds, and his casino was the place to be on Inkwell Isle, with hundreds of customers nightly. But when it came to this...he felt that he often fell short of what he should be capable of.

The Devil thought hard about as he scrubbed his fur, wondering what he could be doing wrong on his end. He had to be doing  _ something  _ wrong, right? Or at least, he thought that must be it. After the Devil finished scrubbing his fur and dried it, he stepped back out into the hall, going into the living room where Reaper sat slumped back on the couch. “Got her to sleep.” He sighed, “She sure is a handful…”

“Tell me about it.” The Devil sighed, sitting down before his husband, “She’s only just been born and already has an explosive personality.” 

Reaper laid his head on the Devil’s shoulder and sighed. “Do you think she’s gonna be this explosive when she gets older?” he asked, holding onto the taller demon’s arm, “Or do you think she’ll even out later?”

“I wouldn’t know…” The Devil replied, petting Reaper’s thigh, “I’m not exactly the most accustomed to children or how they mature…”

“Me neither.” Reaper nuzzled the Devil with his cheek, “But we’ll figure this out together, yeah?”

“Seems like you’ve figured out more than me.” He giggled.

“As if--she kept slapping me with her tail when I tried to lay her down for her nap.” Reaper chuckled, looking up at his husband, “I’m just as confused as you are.”

The Devil looked at Reaper and smiled softly. “Well...I suppose we can learn together?” He cooed, cupping Reaper’s cheek, “It couldn’t be as hard if we put in the same amount of work, could it?” Reaper nodded in agreement, planting a soft kiss on the Devil’s lips and cuddling into him, a faint smile across his face.

“Now let’s just rest, hm? She had us up early.” Reaper yawned, “I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired in my life, and I’m old as  _ shit.” _

“I have to agree…” The Devil’s jaw stretched with a yawn as he leaned against Reaper, “We’ll be woken up by her babbling, won’t we?”

“Or if she decides she wants to start  _ wailing  _ again.”

The Devil gave a tired laugh. “Yes, I’m sure that will wake us up.”

“Yeah…” Reaper’s voice was becoming sleepier now as he began to drift, “it  _ definitely  _ will…”

The stwo slowly drifted off to sleep, being rewarded with a few hours of peaceful shut eye before being woken back up by the sound of Cheshires soft babbling from the nursery. Reaper let out a large yawn as the Devil stretched and the two stood up, making their way to the nursery to look at their precious child as she laid in her crib. 

The Devil looked down at her, a smile growing across his face as she giggled and reached for him, babbling and cooing happily as she did. “Aw, looks like someone woke up missing you.” Reaper purred, smiling at the Devil as he watched him pick her up and cradle her in his arms.

The Devil held Cheshire gently as he rocked her, listening to her soft, squeaky gibberish and giggles. “She sure did--listen to you, little one!” he giggled, tickling his baby’s tummy, “So happy for someone who just woke up, you precious little thing.” Cheshire continued to giggle, nuzzling into the black fur of her father’s chest as she did, earning a goofy smile from the Devil.

“Aw, look at you two!” Reaper swooned, “My  _ handsome _ husband and our  _ adorable  _ baby--my heart might pop!”

The Devil chuckled and planted a kiss on Reaper’s forehead before putting an arm around him while still holding their baby daughter. Reaper looked up at him and smiled before looking back at their smiling child, tickling her stomach and earning a high pitched squealing chuckle from her throat. “What a precious little thing!” He sang, “Can’t wait to see what  _ havoc  _ she reeks when she’s older.”

“Let’s just hope she behaves when she’s at home.” The Devil added, raising his eyebrows, “Speaking of havoc, one of us should change her diaper.”

“Not it.” Reaper said bluntly, “I need to get the imps to help me cook dinner!”

The Devil rolled his eyes and picked up a diaper from the changing table. “Alright.” He huffed, “You go ahead and get started, and I’ll make sure she’s dry and clean.”

“Number one dad!” Reaper chimed, kissing the Devil’s cheek, “Have fun, you two.”

The Devil rolled his eyes and chuckled at the Reaper’s sarcastic remark, laying Cheshire onto the changing table to prepare to change her. This was the start of something beautiful, but the three of them had to get past this awkward and tiring phase first.

Once Dinner passed and the Imps had helped Reaper clean up, Reaper and the Devil found themselves sitting on the floor with Cheshire nestled in Reaper’s arms while he fed her a bottle of milk with the Devil sitting close by. “She sure is hungry, huh?” The Devil asked, watching the baby drink like someone was going to rip the bottle from her mouth. “Just ‘cuz she’s growing.” Reaper replied, rocking her slightly, “She’s trying to get big and strong, as any little demon should.” 

“Yeah…” the Devil trailed off and stayed silent for a moment. “Something on your mind, big guy?” Reaper asked. “Oh, it’s nothing--I just…” The Devil sighed and sat back against the side of an armchair, “I don’t know, this entire situation is...a little new to me. I thought It would be a lot easier than it is. This whole parenting thing.” He looked at Reaper with a pitiful expression, “I just assumed I would be the best at it, you know? Not fumbling in the dark and feeling around for a lightswitch that I just can’t seem to find.”

“Well, it’s only been a few weeks.” Reaper reassured him, “ Neither of us really  _ know  _ what we’re doing, yeah? We’re both just as lost in the dark as any other parent would be, and that’s  _ normal  _ for  _ any  _ couple.” “But we aren’t just  _ any  _ couple.” The Devil whined, “I’m the  _ Devil!  _ The embodiment of evil and trickery!--I shouldn’t be--” Reaper cut him off with a soft kiss and smiled at him. “But those skills didn’t prepare you for a baby, now did they?” Reaper purred, looking at the Devil with a sympathetic smile, “It’s okay to not be the best, okay? You’re  _ trying,  _ and that’s a lot more than a lot of men do for their daughters.”

The Devil smiled at Reaper, pecking him on the lips and putting an arm around him. “You’re right, Reaper.” He crooned, rubbing Reaper’s arm with his thumb, “You always know what to say to make me feel better.”

“Only when you actually tell me how you’re feeling!” Reaper teased, nudging his husband, “ _ But  _ when you do tell me, I will  _ gladly  _ take that praise.”

The Devil chuckled as he and his Reaper joined for another kiss, shutting their eyes as they did and pressing their foreheads together when they decided to break the kiss. “We are  _ great  _ parents so far.” Reaper bragged, “Baby’s still alive, we snuck in a nap, I still made us a  _ full  _ dinner, and our baby is  _ perfect.  _ We’re doin’ amazing.”

The Devil glanced at Cheshire, who still laid in Reaper’s arms drinking from her bottle like she hadn’t been fed in days. “Yes, yes…” The Devil crooned, “we really are, huh?” The Devil grinned at his husband.

“Why was I even so worried?”


End file.
